PLANT POWER! Celebrate and Conserve.

PLANT
POWER! Celebrate and Conserve.

Plants are the backbone of all life on Earth and an
essential resource for human and animal well-being. Just think about how
your everyday life depends on plants:

Food: Everything we eat comes directly or
indirectly from plants. Throughout human history, approximately 7,000 different
plant species have been used as food by people.

Air: Oxygen is brought to you by plants, as a
byproduct of photosynthesis

Water: Plants regulate the water cycle: they
help distribute and purify the planet's water. They also help move water from
the soil to the atmosphere through a process called transpiration.

Habitat: Of course, aside from humans' myriad
uses, plants make up the backbone of all habitats. Other species of fish and
wildlife also depend on plants for food and shelter

Climate: Plants store carbon, and have helped
keep much of the carbon dioxide produced from the burning of fossil fuels out
of the atmosphere

Medicine: One-quarter of all prescription drugs
come directly from or are derivatives of plants. Additionally, four out of five
people around the world today rely on plants for primary health care

Unfortunately, the plants that are vital to people and the
planet are facing serious threats in your backyard and around the world.

GO NATIVE-USE NATIVE PLANTS!

By using
native species in plantings in your backyard with an emphasis on a design that
uses native plants to replicate local plant communities, such as our mixed short
grass and tall grass prairies and eastern Oklahoma forests, you can do your
part to help compensate for the loss and fragmentation of habitat, and nurture
birds, butterflies, and other pollinators and seed dispersers. And don’t forget
to avoid threatening plants indirectly by damaging their pollinators and native
habitats, don’t use toxic pesticides, don’t overfertilize, and choose plants to minimize water use.

Celebrate Plant Conservation during the Zoo’s Endangered Species
Celebration on Friday May 18 from 10am to 2pm.

The Zoo is a fully accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and the American Association of Museums (AAM) as both a living museum and a botanical garden. AZA accredited facilities are dedicated to providing excellent care for their plants and animals, a great experience for guests and a better future for all living things.

A New Breath of Fresh Air: As of Nov. 1, 2007, state law prohibits smoking inside zoological parks. Please help us abide by this law by refraining from smoking within the Zoo. Thank you for maintaining a smoke-free environment for all living things!